AUGMENTATION PUMP

1. Kalamazoo Gazette wrote of the Eagle Lake Texas association's efforts to install a pump in an article dated November 18, 1965. It noted the size of Eagle Lake, which reads, "..in its golden days once indicated 200 acres."

2. The article continues by reading how it will take over a year to see gains. However, after installation, Kalamazoo received above-average rainfall. June and July of 1968 brought twelve inches of rain alone, and the same amount occurred in 1969 for the same months. Additionally, the blizzard of 1967 brought 30 inches of snow to Kalamazoo on bare ground.

3. All elements combined helped recover all lakes from the severe 1964/65 drought. By June 30, 1969, the Gazette headline reads, "Eagle Lake Wet Again," likely more naturally and not by the pump. 

4. The original pump, drilled 194 feet into an aquifer separate from the lake, drew water at a rate of 1.5 million gallons per day and was powered by a 40-horsepower motor.

5. The 1965 pump remained operational with limited maintenance for a long time, with some updates, such as an upgraded pump motor to 60 HP in April 2007, capable of pumping 1,500 gallons per minute, or 500 more gallons per minute than the 1965 pump.

6. Additional updates in 2007 included the start of lake elevation changes to Eagle Lake water level. The elevation of the Eagle changed from the long-standing Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) level of 897.97 feet (Established in 1967) to a higher elevation of 899.84 feet.

7. An association board member vote approves the increase in water size. The elevation change occurred in May 2008 by means of a "New Survey" and was inserted into the current ELTA pump policy. By the following year, North Eagle Lake flooded.

AUGUST 1965